Smetana Quartet
| Company type | String quartet |
|---|---|
| Industry | Classical music performance |
| Founded | 1943 |
| Defunct | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Czechoslovakia |
| Products | Music recordings, live performances |
The Smetana Quartet () was a distinguished Czech string quartet that operated from 1943 until 1989, adopting the name Smetana Quartet starting in 1945.
Personnel
1st violin
- Václav Neumann (1920–1995), 1943–1945
- Jaroslav Rybenský, 1945–1947
- Jiří Novák (1924–2010), from 1947 onward
2nd violin
- Lubomír Kostecký (1922–2003)
Viola
- Jiří Neumann, 1943–1945
- Václav Neumann, 1945–1947
- Jaroslav Rybenský, 1947–1956
- Milan Škampa (1928–2018), from 1956
Cello
- Antonín Kohout (1919–2013)
Origins and career
Established in 1943 amidst the Nazi occupation as the Quartet of the Czech Conservatory by cellist Antonín Kohout, the ensemble adopted the name Smetana Quartet in 1945 with Jaroslav Rybenský and Lubomír Kostecký on violins and Václav Neumann playing viola. When Neumann departed in 1947 to focus on conducting, Rybenský transitioned to viola, and Jiří Novák joined as first violin.
By 1949, the quartet became formally affiliated with the Czech Philharmonic. Their inaugural international tour took place in Poland that same year. The group’s first recording, featuring Bedřich Smetana’s second quartet, was released in 1950. After Rybenský retired due to health issues in 1952, Milan Škampa assumed the viola position. In 1967, members were appointed as professors at the Academy of Musical Arts. Their recordings during this era for German Electrola are highly esteemed.
Acknowledged as the foremost Czech string quartet of their generation, they performed Czech compositions from memory, which heightened their interpretive expressiveness.
Significantly, the Smetana Quartet produced the third commercial digital recording ever made—Mozart’s String Quartets K.421 and K.458—in Tokyo in April 1972. They revisited this repertoire with a new recording session ten years later in Prague.
Antonín Kohout also played a pivotal role in mentoring notable ensembles such as the Kocian Quartet (established 1972) and the Martinů Quartet (formed in 1976).
Notes and references
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Vladimír Šefl, Smetanovo Kvarteto (Supraphon, 1974)
- Jirǐ Berkovec, The Smetana Quartet (Orbis, 1956)
External links
- Discography
- Official website of The Smetana Quartet – includes photo gallery, repertoire details, and recordings